Flex series - comfort for MTBs: Bike grips from Rev Grips with built-in suspension put to the test

Since mountain bikes for enduro or trail use have been getting better and better, even less experienced riders can enjoy increasingly radical descents. The problem: the technology may have improved, but the human body is still the same. Many hobby bikers complain of aching hands after a long trail descent.

But even the professionals of the Enduro World Cup are not spared. Even if they have done their homework and trained themselves to have a strong upper body, they are still plagued by arm pump. It seems that their hands and forearms are not made for this kind of strain.

Rev Grips from the USA want to resolve the conflict and incorporate a unique suspension system into their grips. With conventional grips, the superficial plastic structures dampen smaller damping tasks, such as the shape and mixture of the rubber lamellae. The Americans from Rev Grips actually rely on additional movable grips. Are they worth the proud price of 99 euros? We found out.

Details on the Rev Grips Pro-Series handles

• Price: 99 Euro
• Weight: 144 g (BIKE measurement)
• Available thicknesses: Small / Medium / Large (tested) / XL
• Available rubber colours: Black, Graphite, Neon-Orange, Army-Green, Turquoise, Red, Gum, Hot-Pink
• Available clamping ring colours: black, dark grey, red, blue, light green, gold, purple, light orange, oil-slick
• Special features: Rotating handles, 30-day money-back guarantee, made in USA

Rev Grips relies on flexible MTB grips

When biking, your hands are constantly moving on the grips. Even with the firmest grip, which also causes the forearms to tire very quickly, there is movement in the interaction between the palm and the grip. If you ride your MTB a lot, it is not uncommon to develop calluses in the grip area despite wearing good gloves. The movement of the hand on the grip is also one of the reasons why it gets tired sooner or later on long descents. Overstressed hands and arms not only lead to pain, but also reduce muscular performance. Revolution Suspension Grips has therefore come up with a system in which the grip surface can move together with the hand. The small company is so convinced of the benefits that it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on its suspension grips.

By the way: Rev Grips are also used in Formula One racing. In the pit lane, for example, they sit on the handles of jacks to cushion the impact and protect technicians when the racing car goes uphill. But back to the mountain bike. In fact, the grip surface of the Rev Grips has no direct contact with the handlebars at all. There is an air gap of around three millimetres between the inside of the grip and the handlebars. Unlike normal MTB grips, the Revolution Suspension Grips do not have a continuous core, but are only "mounted" at their ends. There, the grip sits in an elastomer suspension, which is integrated into the screw clamp of the grips. The rubber ring, in which the handle floats, has limits that restrict the amount of rotation. In order to be able to fine-tune the grip feel and damping function in five stages, thin spacers are installed between the elastomer and the grip surface.

Almost all parts are produced in-house at Rev Grips. The grips are "made in the USA", but can also be purchased in Germany via the Dresden label Sour Bikes. To ensure that the suspension grips perfectly match the bike and hands, Rev Grips offers them in four different sizes and with seven colour options for the grip rubber and nine colours for the clamping rings. Aluminium bar ends are included in the scope of delivery. All individual parts can be replaced separately.

Rev Grips handles: Mounting with obstacles

Before hitting the trail, the Rev Grips require a bit of tinkering, as the box doesn't contain ready-assembled screw grips, but a small kit. As with the other Flex products for the cockpit that we have tested, it is a good idea to read the operating instructions for the Rev Grips first. Using thin plastic rings, the rotation effect can be adjusted in five steps from "Firm" to "Soft". Once all the components have been assembled, the grips can be slid onto the handlebars. The aluminium bar ends supplied are fitted before tightening.

The Rev Grips bar ends included in the scope of delivery look good, but rely on a questionable clamping technique: turning in the screw expands a rubber buffer, the expansion of which is supposed to ensure a hold in the handlebar end. Unfortunately, the screw has to be turned extremely far until the clamping force is sufficient. This requires strong hands and some skill to position it correctly.

We also encountered weaknesses in the details when mounting the actual handle. The screws are extremely delicate and the aluminium thread of the clamping ring is very soft. During the frequent back-and-forth assembly in test mode, two threads broke. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be an isolated case and there's no getting around the need for sensitivity and a torque spanner during assembly.

We tried fitting the Rev Grips grips to various standard handlebars and found that the recommended tightening torque of the equivalent of 1.7 Newton metres was barely enough to hold the grips securely in place. Only a tiny gap remains in the clamping ring, which just about ensures that it clamps the handlebars and not just itself. According to Rev Grips, standard MTB handlebars should have an outer diameter of 0.875 inches in the clamping area. The Rev Grips are supposedly approved for clamping from 0.865 to 0.880 inches. More robust hardware, i.e. more stable clamping rings and bolts, could presumably solve clamping and durability problems at the same time.

What the Rev Grips grips with suspension bring to the trail

We tested the Rev Grips spring grips in size RG6-Large. In this version, the grips were already very thick for structural reasons - even for our test editor with glove size XL-XXL. To be on the safe side, riders with smaller hands should choose a size thinner than usual. At the same time, the length of the grip surface is rather narrow. The very soft and sticky rubber feels good in the hand and - quite apart from the additional rotation function - already has better inherent damping than the large number of grips available on the market.

We tested the Rev Grips in all five different hardness settings, but came to the conclusion that the medium setup is the best fit in most situations. With normal hand force, a rotation of 7.5 degrees in both directions is possible in this setting. This means that the grip rotates a total of 15 degrees around the handlebars - not exactly a lot.

In the two harder settings, the effect of the grips is barely noticeable when you get down to business on the trail. In the two softer settings, the grips rotated a little too quickly, which made the cockpit feel a little disconnected. On the first few metres with the Rev Grips, you don't notice much of their function. The grips can be forced into motion by deliberately rotating the hand, but the added value of the expensive rubber is not yet apparent on the way to the trail.

If you get a good shake on the trail, you quickly forget that your hands are gripping the rotating grips. But when you reach the bottom, they feel noticeably more relaxed because the system works! Together with the well-damped rubber, the rotation function ensures less tired arms in the long term.

The Rev Grips really come into their own on rough trails where you need to keep the bike firmly in line. In bumpy sections, you can let the suspension and grips do their job while your own body is subjected to less stress.

The other side of the coin: the slight movement of the grips takes some getting used to, especially when riding actively. During manuals, bunny hops and powerful braking, the initial impulse is dampened by the springy grips. Fortunately, this only happens within a very limited range, so there are no feelings of insecurity. After one day of riding at the latest, you will be fully acclimatised to conventional grips.

Conclusion on the Rev Grips in the test - floating MTB grips for more comfort

For bikers who regularly let it rip on bumpy trails, the purchase of Rev Grips can be worthwhile. Once you have got used to the rotational effect of the grips, they protect your hands and arms from tiring impacts. Especially on bikes with stiff chassis that are regularly ridden on rough tracks, the soft grips bring some relaxation to the body. On tours in moderate terrain, the effect is too weak. The Rev Grips are also not the right grips for jib bikers. The soft threads of the clamps are a no-go on grips for just under 100 euros! - Jan Timmermann, BIKE test editor

Pro

• Rubber grip with high damping
• Many different options and customisation possibilities
• Gain in comfort on very rough trails

Contra

• Price
• Effect barely noticeable on easy terrain
• Durability of the hardware (clamping ring screw connection)